The risk that the bridge connecting the Flores Island with the town of Saint Helena collapse keeps one of the main tourist destinations Peten.
The asphalt and earth bridge, popularly known as a filled bridge, allows the continuous transit of vehicles, residents and tourists over the Petén Itzá Lakeand connects the island with the mainland in a very short journey, which takes only a couple of minutes. However, it has deteriorated due to erosion and washing of material from beneath the structure.
Given this situation, the mayor of Flores, Eduardo Méndez, assured that Since 2024, it has warned the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing (CIV) about the advanced deterioration of the bridge, an important structure for commerce and tourism in the region.
This, after the CIV stated yesterday, Monday, May 18, in a statement that “there is no lack of institutional will” and what has given “technical support” within the legal framework.
According to Méndez, one of the main obstacles has been the constant change of authorities in the CIV, the Road Conservation Unit (Covial) and Caminos, which forced the procedures and technical explanations to be repeated multiple times.
“Every time the minister changes (…) and the next month we have to repeat the same thing again”he stated. He added that this lack of continuity caused delays and that some processes “did not even advance.”
The mayor also explained that the municipality did not intervene directly in the repair because it fears sanctions from the Comptroller General of Accounts. “If we could invest, we would do it, but the Comptroller’s Office would run into us,” He indicated, pointing out that a large part of the infrastructure corresponds to the State and not to the commune.
Regarding the administrative conflict, Méndez pointed out that the main problem is that the CIV asks the municipality to formally hand over the sections of the bridge to incorporate them into the national road network, but assures that these segments really belong to the State.
He explained that the central islet, located between both bridges, was already handed over by the commune because it was under municipal administration; However, he maintained that both the fills and the sections that connect to Santa Elena and Flores were built on what was originally part of the lake and, therefore, would be property of the Nation.
“The only thing that was municipal was the islet. The streets and landfills belong to the State, because that was water,” the mayor stated.
For this reason, he indicated that the municipality considers that it cannot legally transfer areas that are not registered in its name. “We cannot donate what is not ours,” he added.
The CIV maintains that the bridge It does not appear in the official inventory of the national road network and that it remains under municipal jurisdiction, so the commune must complete registration and incorporation processes before state intervention.
This was stated yesterday, Monday, May 18, in a summons in which the director of Roads, Ovidio Álvarez, explained that the registration process would take between five and eight days by sending technicians to Petén to delimit, together with the commune, only the two bridges and the access fill.
Meanwhile, Méndez warned that the deterioration continues to worsen due to the rains and the constant vehicular and tourist traffic and it is a “red” situation for the commune. “There is practically undermining on both sides of Lake Petén Itzá, and in this way the bridge is already collapsing. Part of the asphalt layer is already in the air”he warned.
@cesarsolergt This is what the bridge that connects the central area of #Peten ♬ original sound – César Soler
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